In an earlier message on this blog, we've announced the new publication by OVN board member dr. Jan Snoek (Heidelberg University: Ritual Dynamics in the Independent United Order of Mechanics (Forum Ritualdynamik 16); Heidelberg: SFB 619 Ritualdynamik der Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg (x + 80).The publication can be downloaded from the following link:http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/frontdoor.php?source_opus=8973. Click on 'pdf-Format: Dokument 1.pdf (30.838 KB)'. The file will then download and open on the screen, after which it can be saved to the computer hard disk.

2/23/2009

There have been some changes in the board of the OVN Foundation earlier this year. Drs. Anat Harel stepped back as board member on 1 January 2009. Her PhD fellowship at the Leiden University was concluded. Harel is currently working at the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam on a project which will integrate the collections with the Digital Monument for the Jewish Community in the Netherlands. This is why she has taken a break from the subject of freemasonry for now. The remaining board members are very gratefull for her support in previous years and wish her success in her new endeavors.

The vacancy has since been filled by André Hanou, emeritus professor at in Early Dutch Literature at the Nijmegen University. Hanou specializes in Ditch literature of the Enlightenment, including the works of Johannes Kinker and Jacob Campo Weyerman. His publications on the history of freemasonry within that context include:

2/08/2009

The next International Conference of the DFG Research Group 'The Enlightenment in the referential Context of modern Esotericism (Die Aufklärung im Bezugsfeld neuzeitlicher Esoterik)' will address the theme Enlightenment and Esotericism – Ways into Modernity. The call for papers is as follows:

'Following the conferences “Enlightenment and Esotericism” (Aufklärung und Esoterik) in 1997 at the Herzog-August Library in Wolfenbüttel and “Esotericism in the Enlightenment” (Esoterik in der Aufklärung) in 2006 at the IZEA, now a third conference on this subject will pose the question: To what extent can the multi-faceted relationship between Enlightenment and Esotericism in the eighteenth century be considered as constitutive for Modernity?The influence of the Enlightenment on Modernity has been much postulated and is an intrinsic constituent in the self-validation of Modernity. At the same time it is clear that Esotericism has also played an important role, right up to the present day. Yet what has been little known up to now is just what significance the mutual reciprocity between Enlightenment and Esotericism in the eighteenth century (and the resulting transformations from this relationship) have had.Esotericism, as an aggregate of different historical streams of thought, can be identified through the reception of Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism and Cabbala, as well as through the assimilation of the so-called old sciences of Alchemy, Magic and Astrology from the Renaissance on. During the course of the Early Modern period, related movements such as Paracelsianism, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy and Freemasonry developed out of these streams of thought. As the first two conferences have shown, these various esoteric currents continued to have an impact during the Enlightenment, whether they were negated, integrated or transformed.What role then did the Enlightenment play in the rise of “modern” Esotericism? What about the Enlightenment itself, which developed its profile not least by engaging with esoteric streams of thought? Through which paths – whether through continual or interrupted transmission – did the resulting manifestations of the encounter between the Enlightenment and Esotericism arrive at the later Modern period? What accounts for the affinity between Modernity and the artistic-literary, philosophical, theological, scientific or historical-political expressions of the exchange between Enlightenment and Esotericism?The conference Enlightenment and Esotericism – Ways into Modernity would like to dedicate itself to these questions. Contributions are encouraged from all history-oriented disciplines which investigate the major issues, which reflect on methodical approaches to answering the questions posed or which offer concrete case studies for discussion. The main focus will be on the “long eighteenth century,” that is, on topics dealing with the age of the Enlightenment itself as well as on topics addressing the transition into the first decades after 1800. Nonetheless contributions which treat the nineteenth or twentieth centuries exclusively are also welcome if they take the main theme of the conference into consideration. Proposals are requested by 31/03/2009 and should include a lecture title, a short abstract of one-half to a full page and a brief vita. Please address all submissions to: IZEA, Franckeplatz 1/54, D–06110 Halle, izea@izea.uni-halle.de'.

About the OVN Foundation

The OVN is an independent foundation for 'the advancement of the academic study of the history of freemasonry and related currents in The Netherlands and its former territories'.
The OVN is not affiliated to any masonic organization.